Can't Forget This Love
by Tenpi
Summary: [AU]SasuNaru, NaruSai. Just when Naruto wants to confess his feelings, he has his heart broken by Sasuke's heartless, cruel words. Wanting to escape the pain, Naruto leaves for America only to return years later. With Naruto's return, what will Sasuke do?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: It's the same as always. Naruto does not belong to me, sadly. It belongs to the wonderful, talented Masashi Kishimoto.

**EDIT 2/12/09:** Hello, my dears. Long time no see. I am continuing this story. I'm just finally getting around to correcting the chapters before I can continue. This will help me get back into this story's flow and ideas. I've made changes not only to any errors that I might have had in the text, but I also changed some of the wordings that sounded weird. Well, hopefully I can get to the next chapters tomorrow since I will have nothing to do.

Enjoy. :D

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**Prologue**: _The start of it all_

He was so excited and just couldn't believe it. The good news that he had received earlier was the cause of it. After hard work and determination, Naruto was finally accepted into his first choice university. It was a well known art university that was sure to make good use of his talent for painting and photography. The only bad thing about it was that it was in America, meaning that he would have to leave his life in Japan behind. This was the only thing that was holding him back from accepting the offer.

Another thing that was bothering him and getting in the way of his decision was his hidden feelings toward his best friend of seven years. Not only was this person his best friend but his secret crush was also male. Naruto knew that in the world of love this was the worst combination. He loved his _best friend_ who was also of the same sex, a _male_.

He had never expected to start to feel that way for his best friend, Uchiha Sasuke. In the beginning, they hadn't even liked each other. Neither of them could stand the other and they were always in countless of fights. However, soon they started to open up to each other, as odd as it seemed. Not only that, they also found similarities between them both. They realized that they both felt alone. Although Sasuke had everything, he still craved for someone to understand him. On the other hand, Naruto had nothing, but he still carried a smile on his face despite the loneliness that he felt.

Naruto didn't even know when it had started. He just remembers that one day things had just changed between the two of them. Every rare smile he received became so precious. Every touch and glance would send warmth that he had never felt before throughout his body. Whenever he would stare into dark obsidian eyes, he would feel so light headed and found himself unable to think straight. Slowly but surely, these little things that he felt just grew stronger and stronger until Naruto finally came to the conclusion that he was in love with Sasuke. He could no longer deny what all these feelings were telling him.

However, he couldn't let anyone know about his feelings. He just couldn't risk it. He couldn't because he knew of the possible consequences. There was a big chance that Sasuke didn't feel the same and so he would rather keep his feelings a secret than to lose Sasuke. Naruto knew that he could be content with just staying by his side. The blonde couldn't imagine how his life would be without Sasuke there for him. Without him knowing, the raven haired teen had provided so much support for Naruto. Sasuke was the one and only person that could completely understand Naruto.

But now, Naruto felt as if this was the last chance to tell Sasuke of his feelings since graduation was coming so close. And so, the blonde made a decision. He would tell Sasuke how he really felt about him. And if Sasuke reciprocated his love, Naruto would ask him to come with him to America. Of course, if Sasuke felt the same but didn't want to go to America, Naruto had a back-up college to go to just to stay by his crush.

As Naruto neared the Student Council room, he felt his nerves get the better of him. Sasuke was the Student Council president. Even though Naruto often heard complaints about it, he knew Sasuke enjoyed the title. As he reached the door, he could hear two voices in the room.

"Why can't you accept my feelings?" A feminine voice said that was slightly trembling.

"Is it because of…him?" The voice continued.

Naruto recognized the voice. She was a good friend of his, Haruno Sakura. Better yet, she was also known to be the president of the Sasuke Uchiha fan club. It was also no secret that she harbored the biggest crush for the Uchiha.

"Him…?" Another deep, velvety voice joined in and the blue eyed teen automatically recognized it was Sasuke's deep tenor.

"You know who I'm talking about…Naruto." At this, the aforementioned boy's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

What exactly were the two talking about? And how did this involve him? Naruto had to wonder.

"Naruto? You've got to be kidding me." His voice was cold even for the Uchiha.

"I don't think so, Sasuke. Whenever I ask you to go somewhere with me, you always find an excuse to go with Naruto instead. Not only that, but you also give Naruto those 'looks'." Sakura said accusingly with anger in her voice.

"'Looks'? What looks are you talking about?" From the sounds of it, the raven haired teen had to be glaring at the pink haired girl.

"Those gentle looks. You never look that way at anyone else except for Naruto. Don't think that I don't notice it! So just tell me the truth!" Sakura demanded as her voice rose with anguish.

"The truth? You want to know the truth?" Sasuke's voice dropped into a deadly tone and Naruto shivered at the coldness of it. He had never heard Sasuke said this emotionless before.

"The truth is I don't really even like Naruto. He's dumb, loud and not to mention annoying. Just getting through the day having to listen to his bothersome prattle is enough to make me go crazy. He means absolutely nothing to me. **Nothing**. So get it straight. My rejecting your feelings has nothing to do with that dead last." Sasuke said colder than ever practically spitting out each word as if he was disgusted. What he didn't know was that with each word that he said, they were like knives piercing deeply into Naruto's heart killing it slowly.

Suddenly, the blonde found it hard to breath. His chest hurt so much that he thought he was going to collapse. To hear the truth like that, to hear Sasuke's true feelings, broke Naruto into pieces. He could still hear that cruel, cold voice repeating over and over just how much Sasuke hated him. After all those years of being together just to find out that what he thought was friendship was just pity.

Finding it hard to stay any longer, Naruto quickly dashed down the school's hallway not being able to hold back his feelings. It hurt too much. He couldn't imagine what would happen if Sasuke would say more hurtful things. His heart already couldn't handle the harshness of what Sasuke said before, so hearing more would probably just add salt to his wound.

And so, Naruto ran. He ran so far just to get away from that place. Without him even realizing it, tears had escaped his clear blue eyes as he ran without any direction. His tears flowed down his scarred cheeks as his vision became blurry. The blonde rushed by people not even caring if he bumped into them. He just needed to get far away.

Finally, the painter stopped by his favorite place where he could get away from everything. It was the only place where he could go to be alone since few knew about it. It was a small park that was hidden by a circle of large trees. And just like he expected, the park was empty of people. Naruto dragged himself to a swing and sat down with tears still pouring out of his sparkling blue eyes. As much as he wanted to stop crying, the tears just wouldn't stop.

"I should have known." Naruto whispered to himself in between sobs.

"How stupid of me to think he would ever like someone like me…a loner and not to mention a loser." The artist brought his arm up to rub at his already red eyes.

As his sobs died down, Naruto just stared blankly at nothing. He tried to block out what just happened moments ago. Forcing himself to think about nothing was probably the only way to help him from feeling the heart break he had just experienced.

For hours, Naruto just sat there until it was dark, the sun already gone from the sky. He stared at the ground with empty, listless eyes. His mind was blank and he felt nothing.

Suddenly, the blonde felt a vibration come from his pocket. Without even checking to see who it was, Naruto answered his cell phone.

"Hello?" He answered in a dead voice.

"Dobe? Where are you? I've been looking for you everywhere." Came the voice he knew all too well. It was the same voice that had said all those cruel, uncaring words.

"Where am I…?" At the moment, Naruto's brain was not functioning, or rather couldn't function for if it did, all of the memories from earlier that day would return.

"Yes, where are you? We were supposed to meet after school, but I couldn't find you. I tried stopping by your house but Iruka said that you hadn't returned from school." Sasuke's voice had almost sounded worried as he said this. _Almost_.

"Why do you care?" The painter said in a monotone voice.

"What do you mean? Naruto, is there something wrong with you? You sound…different. Very unlike the way you usually sound." Sasuke said this time getting genuinely worried. He had never heard his friend sound like this before.

"I'm at our secret place." Naruto said before hanging up.

After shutting the phone close, the blonde finally felt himself come back to his senses. His eyes, however, darkened with sadness. He knew what he had to do now. The decision was so clear now. It was the only thing that he could do. He would go to America by himself and start anew there. He would go there where there was no Sasuke and where he could probably forget the feelings that had brought him so much pain.

It was the only thing he could do to mend his broken heart.

* * *

When Sasuke arrived at the park, he found Naruto staring up into the sky with a look that brought a pain to his chest. It was as if he was asking the heavens why life had to be so painful and sad. His eyes were glassy and had so much anguish swimming through them, that Sasuke could hardly control the painful clenching in his chest. He wondered what had happened for the usual happy-go-lucky blonde to look as he did.

"Naruto…" As soon as he called his name, the pain disappeared and was covered up by a perfected fake smile that only Naruto knew how to pull off.

"Hey, bastard." The blonde said in an equally fake cheerful voice.

Although it bothered the raven haired teen to see Naruto like that, as always he chose to ignore it.

"Why didn't you wait for me?"

Naruto looked at him blankly for a split second before grinning.

"Sorry, something just came up."

An elegant Uchiha brow rose in question.

"And what was this something you speak of?"

Naruto hesitated.

"Oh you know…just this and that." The painter said with finality in his voice leaving no room for further questioning.

"Whatever." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Wow, look at the time! I gotta go now. Iruka's gonna be mad with me if I don't go back soon." The blonde said frantically as he rose up from the swing.

He grabbed his book bag and headed to the small entrance of the park. However, just before he passed the raven teen, Naruto stopped.

"Goodbye, Sasuke. Take care." Was the words that the blonde left with the Uchiha, the raven haired teen not even knowing what was about to happen. He didn't even realize that that would be the last time he would be able to see that blonde hair and those blue eyes for a long time.

And so, the Uchiha thought nothing of it and left the park heading to his house. On the ride back, he couldn't help feeling that something was terribly wrong. It almost felt as if something bad was about to happen. But of course being an Uchiha not caring for things like that, he ignored the nagging feeling and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

The next morning, the raven haired genius woke up earlier than usual in order to go pick up his blonde friend. The Uchiha was determined to find out exactly what was wrong with Naruto. Now that he had a chance to think about it, the blonde had acted so strange. Even his fake cheerfulness was faker than usual.

Plus, that bad feeling was back, tenfold. Sasuke just couldn't shake it off and it was annoying him to no end. To make things worse, he had a feeling it was somehow connected to the blonde who was acting so oddly the night before.

With that in mind, the raven haired teen left the Uchiha mansion and made his way to Naruto's house. In truth, it wasn't really Naruto's house at all. The blonde was living with a close family friend, Umino Iruka, who also acted as his guardian in the absence of his aunt and uncle who were always on the road.

Upon arriving at Iruka's apartment, the feeling of dread took over once again. Being an Uchiha, Sasuke easily made it vanish without another thought. He was already used to making all his other emotions disappear with sheer will alone.

Reaching the door, he knocked on it and waited patiently for someone to answer it.

Soon enough, the door was opened to reveal a tired looking Iruka.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?" The brunet man said with a tired voice.

"What do you mean? I came to pick up Naruto." He said with annoyance. Why else would he be here? Didn't he do this every morning for the past _three_ years ever since he got his driver's license?

"Naruto? He already left earlier this morning. Didn't he tell you?" Iruka frowned realizing that something was not right.

"He didn't even wait for me. We usually go to school together…" The raven haired boy said to himself before looking back up at Iruka.

"Well, I'll see him at school, so it's no big deal." The Uchiha blew it off coolly as he turned to walk away.

"At school? I'm afraid Naruto won't be at school." The taller man said already figuring out what must have happened. He frowned deeply not really wanting to be the one to tell the Uchiha the news.

"Why…not?" Sasuke, for some odd reason, was scared to ask this question. He felt as if that feeling he had been having all of last night and this morning had come back a hundred times in intensity.

"You won't see him because he left for America earlier this morning…"

* * *

**A/N: **Hello! This is my first fanfiction in such a long time of going MIA. I've just been hit with a major writer's block that had lasted for way too long. But now, I'm back. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish some of my other stories as well as this one.

So please, tell me what you think? Was it good or bad? I need opinions since I know I must be rusty. Remember, reviewing is your friend!!!


	2. Sasuke's Point of View and the Return

**Disclaimer**: You all know I do NOT own Naruto. Oh well.

Also, thank you all who reviewed. Much love to you all!!

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**Chapter One**: _The beginning from Sasuke's Point of View and the Return._

As soon as he opened his eyes that morning, Uchiha Sasuke already felt like the day was going to be a waste. It was bright and sunny with birds singing outside in the gentle breeze. The Uchiha frowned at the brightness of the day. Yes, it was for sure going to be a horrible day. He could practically feel it.

Getting out from his comfortable bed was even hard for the raven haired teen. He wanted nothing more than to stay in bed all day and forget that he had to go to school. Even though he would be graduating in a few days, Sasuke still felt the need to rebel and stay at home for the day although he had no reason to.

However, hearing his father yell at him for being lazy and comparing him to his genius brother was not something that he would put up with just because he didn't want to go to school.

And so, with that thought, the dark eyed teen headed to his bathroom in order to start his daily morning routine.

After taking a quick shower and brushing his teeth, Sasuke got dressed in his school uniform and headed downstairs. There he saw his mother smiling happily while making breakfast. He father was seated on the table in the dinning room that was connected to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Sasuke!" His mother said brightly as she blew him a kiss from her position in the kitchen.

"Morning, Mother." He said with a small smile. It seemed that her brightness could never fail in bringing a smile (albeit small) to his usual stoic face.

"Good morning, Father." He gave a small bow toward his father who was currently looking through a newspaper.

"Hn." Was all he got from his father and he expect no more than that.

"Honey, the food is ready, put away that newspaper. Oh and Sasuke dear, have something to eat before you go to school, okay? You know it's bad to skip meals." His lovely mother prodded as she brought two plates of food to the table.

Never being one to deny his mother, the raven headed toward the table and took a seat sighing to himself at his weakness to his mother.

The two Uchiha males ate in silence as they always did. Neither one was really a person for conversation unless it was absolutely necessary. This was the kind of relationship Sasuke had with his father. Though sometimes he felt uncomfortable in his father's presence, he greatly respected the man who became CEO of Uchiha Enterprises at the age of twenty-one that is to this day the youngest ever in existence of the company.

"Have you chosen a university that you want to go to after you graduate, Sasuke?" Uchiha Fugaku said looking at his youngest son with dark eyes that appeared almost black.

In fact, he was very similar to his son as far as physical features were concerned. Both had dark obsidian eyes and dark raven hair. The older Uchiha had a more color to his skin compared to Sasuke's pale skin in which he inherited from his mother.

"I haven't decided yet. But I have two in mind." Sasuke answered in a formal voice.

"I see. I hope you make the decision soon before it is too late." His father slightly frowned at his son's answer.

"Dear, don't worry too much. With Sasuke's grades, he'll get into anywhere he wants easily." The beauty known as Uchiha Mikoto winked at her son before smiling to her beloved husband.

Sasuke looked thankful to his mother for getting him off the hook. Sometimes he wondered how his kind, loving mother came to marry a stern, aloof man like his father.

After he finished eating, Sasuke excused himself and head out the door to his car. The drive wasn't long since the school was located in his neighborhood. Soon enough, the raven spotted the tall buildings of Konoha High. It was a prestige and well known school throughout the city of Konoha. Only the smartest of students were able to attend this school for the school's criteria called for only the best.

As he parked in the student parking lot, Sasuke's eyes caught the bright yellow head of hair belonging to none other than Uzumaki Naruto. For a second, Sasuke just stared at his blue eyed friend before getting out of his car to join the blonde.

The relationship between the two was quite odd. They had met when they were very young. It was around his second year of primary school that Sasuke was introduced to the blonde ball of energy. At first, he remembered hating the blonde for being so loud and annoying, but that annoyance soon changed into something else.

So now, for seven years, the two had been together through almost everything. Though many people wondered what an Uchiha was doing with the loner known as Uzumaki Naruto. To this day, that question is still unanswered. And to be honest, Sasuke really had no idea himself. He was just pulled in by those innocent, bright blue eyes. And without him knowing, Naruto had taken the place as his most trusted friend.

"Naruto!" The raven haired teen called getting the attention of said blonde.

"Hey Sasuke!" Came the cheerful reply that was accompanied by a dazzling smile.

The way that the blonde had greeted him made Sasuke smile inwardly. He was the only one who would look at him like that without any hidden motives. Naruto didn't look at him as an Uchiha. He just saw Sasuke as Sasuke and that was something that he couldn't say about most of the people he met.

Most people tried to befriend him just because his last name was Uchiha. They wanted to gloat that they knew a person with such a famous name like Uchiha. They never really cared about him only about how they would benefit from knowing him.

Sasuke supposed that would be an explanation as to why he didn't get close to anyone. No one except for Naruto, of course. Somehow the blonde had wormed his way into the raven haired heir's close to perfect life completely disrupting the barrier that he tried so hard to make.

Soon enough, Sasuke caught up with the blonde artist giving him a small grin while greeting him.

"Good morning." He said to the smiling blue eyed teen next to him.

"Good morning, Sasuke. Look, it's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Though his voice was loud and could be considered annoying, it didn't bother Sasuke at all. In fact, he was used to Naruto's big mouth and even bigger voice.

"Hn." Was all he got from Sasuke as the said dark eyed teen went back into his stoic mode.

Soon enough they arrived to the classroom that they both shared. Though, Naruto might have seem dumb to any person who met him, the truth was that he was secretly very smart. However, Sasuke knew that Naruto just let everybody believe that it was just a fluke that he got into such a high standard school such as Konoha High.

"Hey Sasuke, wanna do something after school? I heard that they added a new flavor of ramen at Ichiraku!" Naruto explained all excited for the new flavor at his favorite place to eat.

"Hm, if you don't mind waiting for me, then sure. I have a Student Council meeting after school to discuss graduation." Sasuke frowned at the thought of having to deal with his president duties. To be honest, he had never really wanted to be the president, but since his brother was Sasuke had to follow. If not, then it would be another disappointment to his father.

"Sure! But since you're making me wait, it's on you, right??" Naruto grinned slyly while nudging his friend.

"…whatever." Sasuke rolled his eyes as the blond gave a yelp of joy.

"Okay, everyone take a seat." Their history teacher stepped in.

He was a tall silver haired man that was dressed quite oddly. He wore a black turtle neck in which the collar covered more than half of his face. To make his attire more odd was the rolled bandana that covered his left eye leaving only one eye visible. No one really knew how their teacher really looked since the man had never shown his face not even once.

"Sorry, I'm late. A crazy person jumped in front of my car on the way over here." As usual was an unbelievable excuse that Hatake Kakashi never failed to make for his tardiness.

All the students were used to it and just rolled their eyes not paying attention to the lame excuses that their teacher would make. It wasn't really worth questioning after all the times it had happened which was quite a lot.

"Yosh! Let's begin today's lesson…"

* * *

Sasuke sighed as the last class for the day was over. After Kakashi's class, all the others just seemed to fly by. And now, he was on his way to the Student Council room. Upon his arrival, the Uchiha realized that he was the first there. This did not surprise him at all. Though the members of Student Council were reliable when it came to being punctual they all failed on that. 

"Sasuke-kun, you're here!!" A bubbly female voice came from the direction of the door.

With an annoyed sigh, Sasuke turned around and found who he expected to find, the pink haired girl who was also secretary for the Student Council. Her shocking pink hair was tied with a red ribbon which contrasted with the bright bubblegum hue of her hair. She had slightly peach colored skin and shining green eyes. Though she was nothing to look at, the pink of her hair and green of her eyes made people give the female teen a second glance.

"Hn." Sasuke didn't even bother to give her a proper answer.

A frown came to his face when he saw her suddenly blush and start fidgeting around in an odd manner.

"Since we're alone, Sasuke-kun, there's been something that I've been meaning to tell you…" Sakura started off her voice strangely firm even though she looked terribly embarrassed.

The Uchiha didn't respond for he knew already was she was going to say. He was actually quite surprised that the girl hadn't said anything sooner. This was their tenth year of knowing each other and this was the first time the girl would admit her feelings to Sasuke. He had always known that the pink haired girl had the biggest crush on him but chose to ignore it since he knew that he would never feel the same.

"Well…I really like you, Sasuke-kun. Would you please go out with me?" She said in a hurry as she tightly closed her eyes and clenched her hands together.

"…I can't accept your feelings, Sakura." He said in an emotionless voice as he stared at the flushed girl coldly.

It already bothered him that he at least got fifteen confessions a day and now he had to deal with the only girl he let into his circle of friends confessing to him. To be honest, he only let her get close to him because of Naruto. He didn't know why, but the blonde liked the girl. He couldn't see why. She was annoying to him and not to mention mean to Naruto.

"Why not, Sasuke-kun? We've known each other for so long! I know that you sometimes seem cold, but you've let me get close to you over these years." She said her eyes already beginning to get glassy with unshed tears.

"Have you ever asked yourself why that was?" Sasuke started off coldly.

"It was because Naruto liked you. I only let you get close to me because of him." He continued turning away not caring that the girl was going to cry. He had dealt with tears before from all the other people that he rejected.

"Is that why you can't accept my feelings?" Sakura suddenly said her voice low yet steady.

"Is it because of…him?" She continued looking up at Sasuke with anger in her eyes.

"Him?" Sasuke repeated not really understanding what the girl was getting at.

"You know who I'm talking about…Naruto." Her eyes narrowed as she thought about the said blonde who always seemed to be smiling happily as he was by Sasuke's side.

Sasuke frowned not liking what she was saying. Was she accusing him of liking that blond idiot? Sure he liked hanging out with the blue eyed painter, but he wouldn't go as far as to say he **liked** him.

"Naruto? You've got to be kidding me?" _Why in the hell would I like him? I am NOT gay._ Sasuke added the last part to himself.

"I don't think so Sasuke. Whenever I ask you to go somewhere with me, you always find an excuse to go with Naruto instead. Not only that, but you also give Naruto those 'looks'." Sakura said firmly believing in what she was saying. She couldn't believe that Sasuke wouldn't like her. The only way that he wouldn't like her would be that he liked someone else. And the only person that was closer to Sasuke than her was none other than Naruto.

"Looks? What looks are you talking about?" Sasuke questioned thinking that the girl was out of her mind. How could she think that he, an Uchiha, would like another male. The thought by itself was laughable. And to make things worse, she believed it was Naruto. Now that was even funnier.

However, at that moment, Sasuke felt something that he didn't want to identify.

'_You know denial is not only a river in Egypt…'_ An unknown voice said in Sasuke's head. He frowned at the voice. He did not want to consider that. He was **not** in denial. It was wrong…it had to be. He couldn't like his best friend. It was impossible.

"Those gentle looks. You never look that way at anyone else except Naruto. Don't think that I don't notice it! So just tell me the truth!" Sakura once again raised her voice getting angry at the guy of her dreams, the guy she wanted to marry who was rejecting her coldly without a second thought.

'_That's it…'_ Sasuke thought finally getting angry at the girl. That was the last straw. The green eyed teen finally stepped over the line.

"The truth? You want to know the truth?" Sasuke said in an icy voice that would make a grown adult quiver in fear.

However, Sakura was into her own feelings to notice the deadly change in Sasuke's voice.

"The truth is I don't really even like Naruto. He's dumb, retarded, loud and annoying. Just getting through the day having to listen to his bothersome prattle is enough to make me want to permanently shut him up. He means absolutely nothing to me. **Nothing**. So get it straight. My rejecting your feelings has nothing to do with that dead last." He said each word strongly hoping to get it through her thick head that he felt nothing whatsoever for the blonde.

As Sasuke said this, he had no idea that said blonde was outside of the room with his clenched fist over his heart. Neither did he know that with those words he broke the already fragile heart of the blonde. He didn't know how much pain he had just caused to the only person who had looked at him for him and not because he was an Uchiha. No, he had no idea at all…

Sakura looked unbelieving for a second before her eyes watered up finally not being able to take the harsh blow that was dealt when being rejected by her first love.

The door opened and the vice president of the Student Council walked in not even noticing the heavy tension that he was walking in to. His pale eyes glanced at the tearful girl then to the brooding Uchiha before sighing and taking a seat obviously ignoring the two. It was painfully obvious what had just happened. But Hyuuga Neji was never one to put his nose where it didn't belong.

Sakura quickly dried her tears and tried to focus at the task at hand. Although she was broken hearted, she needed to do her job. It was against what she believed in to slack off just because of personal matters.

The other members soon joined and Sasuke took a deep breath before starting the meeting.

* * *

"And so, if there is nothing else to be discussed, then this meeting is adjourned." Sasuke said in a formal voice. Inwardly, he breathed out a sigh. He was glad to finally be able to end the meaningless meeting. 

Everyone stood while gathering their papers before giving the Uchiha a brief bow on their way out. Seems just like Sasuke they were happy that the meeting ended.

He didn't even spare a glance at the pink haired girl as she walked out with her head bowed. The dark haired teen did feel _slightly_ bad for rejecting her. He was human after all, but he just couldn't see her in that way. Plus she wasn't really his type. His type was not pink hair but blonde. Also he couldn't stand the green of her eyes. He preferred something softer like blue…a nice bright blue.

'_Just like Naruto, huh?'_ An image of the blonde artist flashed through his mind.

Yes, just like Naru-…!! Wait a second!! He was **NOT** just thinking that. Sasuke frowned at his thoughts. Naruto was definitely not his type. He was loud, annoying, obnoxious, stupid, clumsy…cute, adorable, beautiful…

"…I did not just think Naruto was beautiful." Sasuke grumbled to himself not believing his own thoughts.

Deciding that a change of scenery would get his mind thinking straight again, Sasuke headed out of the room. It was probably all because Sakura had said all those ridiculous things about him giving Naruto special "looks". Hell, he didn't even know how he looked at Naruto.

Walking to the entrance, Sasuke expected to see the blonde there waiting for him. And yet, said blue eyed teen was no where in sight. This made Sasuke frown. He was sure Naruto would be waiting for him. After all, he would be getting free ramen. The painter was never one to turn down free food, especially if it was ramen. It was his favorite thing to eat. Sasuke was sure that if possible, the blonde would eat nothing but those flavored noodles.

Deciding that Naruto had probably gotten tired of waiting, the raven haired teen began to look around the school hoping to find his friend somewhere.

However, the blue eyed teen was no where to be found at school. This made Sasuke slightly worry. Just where could Naruto have gone? All the other times, Naruto would patiently wait for him without ever leaving no matter how long the meetings would last.

"Maybe he went home…" The Uchiha mumbled to himself as he made his way to his car.

Soon enough, he arrived at where Naruto lived. Sasuke parked near the building while looking at the large structure. It was a fairly nice apartment complex in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood. He got out of his car and headed to the stairs knowing that Naruto's apartment that he shared with his guardian was on the third floor.

Sasuke knocked on the door waiting for someone to answer.

The door opened to reveal a nice looking man with his hair up in a ponytail. He had a large scar going horizontally across his face. However, that didn't make the brunet look rough especially since he always had a kind smile on his face. As always, he was greeted with a smile from the older man known as Umino Iruka.

"Hello. It's nice to see you, Sasuke. What brings you here?" Iruka asked politely with his usual kind smile on his handsome face.

"Is Naruto here?" Sasuke was never one for idle chat, so he just got straight to the point.

"Naruto? No, he hasn't come back from school yet." The brunet's smile vanished and his eyes began to shine with worry. If the blonde was not with Sasuke, then where could he have possibly been?

"I see. Don't worry. He's probably just messing around." The dark eyed teen said sensing the worry from the older man.

"I'll find him. Bye." With that, he walked away hoping that he could find the stupid blonde.

As he got into his car, Sasuke pulled out his phone and pressed number two. It was a speed dial for Naruto's cell phone.

After three rings, he finally heard someone pick up the phone.

"Hello?" Immediately, Sasuke noticed the difference in Naruto's usual bright voice. He sounded tired and his voice had dropped into a low tone. Thinking nothing of it, Sasuke began to talk.

"Dobe? Where are you? We were supposed to meet after school, but I couldn't find you. I tried stopping by your house but Iruka said that you hadn't returned from school." He allowed himself to sound slightly worried for the blonde. And deep down, he truly was. First the blonde was missing and now the empty, sad voice he was using.

"Why do you care?" Sasuke frowned at this. Just what the hell did that question mean?

"What do you mean? Naruto, is there something wrong with you? What's wrong with your voice? You sound…different." Finally, the raven haired teen allowed his worry to show. It was very unusual for the blonde to talk to him like that unless something was bothering him.

"I'm at our secret place." With that, Sasuke heard a distinct click and he was cut off by Naruto hanging up on him.

Sasuke drove out of the parking lot of the apartments and headed to a place he knew all too well.

It was a small park that the two had found when they were younger. Though it used to be a popular park, the amount of visitors soon dropped as soon as a grove of trees blocked the path. No one had bothered removing the trees since it was too bothersome and so they had just left it as is. Soon enough, everyone stopped going to that park. The two friends had rediscovered it and decided to make it their secret place.

Over the years, the two frequently visited the park since it was the only place that they would be alone. It was a place that they would go whenever they had a bad day or just to relax and forget all of their problems.

The Uchiha heir parked his car and stepped out making his way through the trees that blocked the entrance of the park. Soon enough a head of blonde hair was seen.

However, the appearance of said blonde made Sasuke stop in mid-step.

Naruto was looking up at the starry night with a look of intense pain and sorrow. He looked as if he was about to cry and although his eyes were glassy, no tears left his sparkling blue eyes. Sasuke didn't know why, but he felt his insides clench uncomfortably. It was so painful that he almost couldn't breathe. Seeing his usual cheerful friend with such a face was almost too much for him to bear. He had never seen such a look. Especially not from Naruto.

"Naruto…" Without knowing it, the obsidian eyed heir let out the other's name.

He noticed that as soon as the name left his lips, all the sadness and pain disappeared from the blonde's face only to be replaced with what he knew was a fake smile.

"Hey, bastard." With that fake smile came a fake voice that was even faker than usual.

Though he was really bothering him deep down, Sasuke chose to ignore it.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" His voice was thankfully at its usual stoic tone.

"Sorry, something came up."

Sasuke did not believe that for one second. What could have possibly of happened?

"And what is this something that you speak of?" The Uchiha heir decided to further press the truth out of his blonde friend.

"Oh you know…this and that." Though it was said in a nonchalant tone, Sasuke could tell that he would not be getting an answer from the blue eyed artist.

"Whatever." At his answer, Sasuke rolled his eyes. He should have known better than to ask such a question from the sometimes secretive blonde.

"Wow, look at the time! I gotta go now. Iruka's gonna be mad with me if I don't go back soon."

Naruto's sudden need to depart startled the raven haired teen. He had just gotten there and now the blonde had to leave? That didn't make any sense. Also they still hadn't gone out to eat like that had planned earlier.

However, it did look as though the blue eyed teen wasn't about to change his mind and so Sasuke just let him go.

"Goodbye, Sasuke. Take care." Were the odd words that came out of Naruto's mouth as he stopped to stand side by side with him before walking off in the direction of his apartment.

The dark eyed boy wondered why Naruto had said such a formal farewell like that. It almost sounded as if they wouldn't be seeing each other again.

Sasuke shook off that thought although it was really bothering him on the inside. But thinking realistically, he knew that nothing like that was going to happen so he was probably over worrying about the whole thing.

With that final thought, Sasuke headed home wanting to get to the nice warm bed that waited at his house. It had been a long, tiring day, so he wanted to have a good rest.

* * *

In the morning, Sasuke woke up from a restless sleep. It seemed what happened with Naruto was bothering him so much that he couldn't sleep right. 

The Uchiha was tired and felt like he didn't get any sleep at all. Deciding it was better to attack the cause of him problems, Sasuke got ready in hopes of picking up Naruto before he left to school.

The raven haired teen wanted to get to the bottom of this. If he couldn't then he knew that it would be bothering him all day.

With that final thought, Sasuke got ready and headed off to the blonde's house.

After knocking on the apartment's door, it opened to reveal a very tired looking Iruka.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?" Came Iruka's tired voice as he rubbed one of his eyes.

"What do you mean? I came to pick up Naruto." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And to be honest, it was.

"Naruto? He already left earlier this morning. Didn't he tell you?" The Uchiha didn't notice the slight worry in the older man's voice.

"He didn't wait for me…we usually go to school together." Sasuke mumbled to himself wondering why the blonde was acting so strange. First, that look and now he leaves for school without him. It was really strange.

However, Sasuke didn't want to think anything of it. The dark eyed teen didn't like worrying over things and so he decided just to let it go.

"Well, I'll just see him at school. No big deal." Sasuke began to turn away from the brunet to head back to his car.

"At school? I'm afraid that Naruto won't be at school." Came the sad sounding voice of Iruka.

Sasuke stopped not believing what he was hearing. Countless of possibilities raced through his head as to why Naruto would not be attending school. However, none of them seemed like the right answer. None of them seemed like they would be possible.

"Why…not?" He finally asked slightly afraid of what he was about to hear.

"Because he left earlier for American this morning."

As soon as Iruka said these words, Sasuke's mind froze. Naruto had left to America? How could that have been? He had never once heard of the blonde's plans for America.

"He left to…America?" Sasuke asked still not being able to fully comprehend the whole situation.

"Yes, that's right." The brunet man started off looking at the raven haired boy standing in front of him with a look of sadness. It was now apparent to him that Naruto hadn't told the Uchiha anything of his plans to leave.

"As soon as he came home, he had told me to help him pack his things.

"At first I was puzzled as to what he meant, but he then told me that he had made a decision to leave for America early in the morning.

"I tried to reason with him by telling him it was too sudden, but he told me that he would take care of everything as soon as he got there.

"Apparently, Naruto had received a scholarship that would pay for all of his tuition and any other needs that he might have. Several of the professors had seen Naruto's paintings and photos and where highly impressed with his talents.

"However, I did not think that he would decide so soon. But I could not change his mind." Iruka said with a sigh as he closed his tired eyes.

"So, he's gone?" That was all that Sasuke allowed himself to say. For if he said more, his voice was sure to crack.

"Yes. He is." The older man replied sadly. He, too, did not want Naruto to leave.

"I see…" Was all the raven haired heir said before turning and walking away.

As Sasuke sat in his car, his mind ran over the various reasons why Naruto would want to leave for America so suddenly. He couldn't really think of anything.

"_Goodbye, Sasuke. Take care."_

Naruto's words echoed through his head. Now he knew why the blonde had said those words. It seemed whatever he was thinking about before was the cause of his sudden departure. But he couldn't think of what would make Naruto feel that way.

Sighing, Sasuke decided to skip school and headed back to his house knowing that both his parents would not be home. There was no way that he would be able to concentrate at school with his mind only focused on what had happened.

The dark eyed teen suddenly felt betrayed. He felt betrayed that Naruto didn't come to him with his problem. He felt betrayed that Naruto didn't want to discuss what was happening to him. And then he sudden made such a big decision without even telling him a thing about it. They were supposed to be friends, right?

As Sasuke fell onto his bed, he couldn't help but want to see those beautiful blue eyes and those sparkling blue eyes.

* * *

The airport, as always, was packed full of people. It had been a total of five years since he returned to Japan. In that amount of time, he was able to complete college and earn his degree both in photography and in art. 

However along the way, he was picked up as a professional photographer and started to take photos of famous people and models. And this was the reason he was back in Japan. He had a job for a photo shoot with some big shot model. Apparently, they had hand picked the blonde for his talents in photography.

Naruto was never one to reject a job. Especially when they offered the amount that they did. He was surprised to see eight digits when handed a piece of paper from the model's company representative.

He looked around the airport and suddenly everything looked familiar. It felt like he had just left yesterday, but he knew deep down that though everything looked the same he was sure that everything had changed.

The photographer still remembered the day he left. It had been a rash decision, but he didn't regret it. Because of all the opportunities that he received during his time away from his home country, it was all worth it to him. Every moment he was in America, Naruto learned something new.

However, what bothered him the most was the way he had just left without properly saying goodbye to everyone...especially to Sasuke.

_Flashback _

_I got back to the apartment that I shared with Iruka with my mind set. And I knew that if I didn't do anything now, that I wouldn't have the courage to do it again. My decision to move to America was something that I had selfishly decided on my own. I wanted to be selfish. For once, I wanted to think about myself and not think of anyone else._

"_Naruto, where have you been? I've been worried. Sasuke had came by and said that he couldn't find you. What happened?" Iruka, as always, was the worrywart. No matter how little the matter was the older man was always over worrying._

"_I was just at the park thinking." I said walking to my bedroom fully aware that Iruka was following after me._

"_Thinking? Is anything the matter, Naruto? You know that you can always talk to me if you have any problems with anything." Although, the brunet was only my guardian he was really like a father to me. He treated me as if I was his own blood._

"_I…want to go to America." I said finally. The news didn't really surprise Iruka because he was the one with me when I had received the acceptance letter._

"_Really? That's wonderful." He smiled happily for me although I could see that it didn't reach his eyes. I knew that Iruka did not want me to leave. He was probably more attached to me than I was to him._

"_Yeah…but I want to leave by tomorrow morning." I said wondering what would be my guardian's reaction to that. I didn't have to wait long._

"_What!?!?!" Iruka exclaimed looking as if the sky had fallen. Yes, I had expected this reaction from the brunet._

"_I want to leave my tomorrow." I repeated looking straight at him to show my seriousness._

"_But what about your graduation, Naruto? And where are you going to live? Have you really thought this over thoroughly?" He was really panicking over this. And, once again, I had expected this._

"_I've already contacted the principal. He said it was possible and that he'd have my degree by tomorrow. I already called Tsunade-bachan and Ero Sennin. They both say it is fine with them .And I have thought this over. This is the best solution for me." I surprised myself with the seriousness I talked with. Iruka must've heard it took because it seemed he was already giving in._

"_Very well. It seemed that you even looked and planned ahead for this. Here, let me help you pack." Iruka then fully stepped into my room ready for a long night._

"_I just hope you won't regret this, Naruto…"_

"_Don't worry. I won't…"_ At least, I hope not…

_End Flashback _

Naruto made his way to the front of the airport wondering who was going to pick him up. He honestly did not know. He just remembered Kiba telling him that he would send someone to go and get him. At the time, Naruto did not think much about it and so he agreed without much argument.

What he didn't expect was to see a familiar head of dark raven hair. Nor did he expect to see those cold, glaring obsidian eyes again. At least, not so soon.

The blonde froze in place with his bright blue eyes wide and his mouth slightly opened. He was completely stunned to see the person in front of him. After all these years, he stood in front of the man he ran away from.

"Welcome back, dobe."

* * *

Okay! There's another chapter. Don't you all love the cliffie? Haha. 

Oh look!! Is that the review button?? It's just shouting "CLICK ME!!!", don't 'cha think!? You should do it.


	3. Meeting Again and A New Rival

**Disclaimer**: I have the same disclaimer as everyone else does. And I really don't like repeating myself.

**Warnings**: There are slight malexmale activities going on in this chapter. Nothing too graphic, but I just thought I should let everyone know beforehand. I'm thinking that for the later chapters I shall change the rating. Depending how this story turns out I may add a lemon. We shall see. Bwahaha.

Also, thanks to all who reviewed. I love you all. You make continuing this story so much more worth it. Thanks for being so patient with me.

Okay! Let's get started with the story. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter Two**: _Meeting Again and a New Rival_

"_Welcome back, dobe."_

Naruto just stared in shock as the person known as Uchiha Sasuke also the man who was his first love stand before him. He was the least likely person that he had expected to see. Especially when it came to picking him up today. As far as the blonde knew, he had only told few that he would be returning today. How Sasuke had managed to find out was beyond him.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?" Naruto finally asked regaining his composure from his shocked state.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to pick you up." The raven haired man said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, yes…but how did you know I was returning today." Naruto hesitated with that question. He didn't want to make it seem that he was hiding his return from Sasuke, even though in truth he was.

"Sakura had let it slip." Was all Sasuke said looking at the blonde with his dark eyes.

It seemed that time had done Naruto good. He was no longer short, but reached over six feet tall. The Uchiha could tell that underneath Naruto's plain t-shirt and loose jeans, there was a well toned body rippling with muscles. His face was now more defined with no remaining baby fat that had shed away over the years. His gorgeous blue eyes were the same, but they held a certain depth that hadn't been there before. The same whisker-like marks adorned his tan cheeks. In short, Naruto looked good and Sasuke noticed it.

Naruto held back a sigh. He should have known that one of them would slip and tell Sasuke.

"Oh, I see." Naruto looked down slightly uncomfortable in Sasuke's presence.

"Did you not want me to pick you up?" Came the cool voice of the Uchiha.

"Oh, no! It's not that." Naruto said in a hurry. It really wasn't that at all. It was just that he was feeling odd being with Sasuke after he had just left him without a proper goodbye all those years ago.

"Well then?" Sasuke said staring at the blonde photographer.

Naruto was hesitant to answer the question. He didn't even know how he would answer it. What was he supposed to say?

'_Oh, I didn't know that you would still talk to me after what happened five years ago. I mean I did leave you without telling you a word of where I was going. And to add to that, I didn't even contact you during these five years, even though I still kept in touch with everyone else.'_

Yeah, right. Naruto could not say that. He'd probably end up making the Uchiha angry which was never a good thing.

Seeing that Naruto was reluctant to answer his question, Sasuke decided to let him off the hook.

"Let's get going. I doubt you want to stay in the airport any longer." The dark haired man turned and walked away knowing that the blonde was sure to follow.

After the two had gotten in Sasuke's sleek black car, Naruto was right away uncomfortable in his presence once again. After not seeing each other for several years, it was odd for Naruto to be together with him especially since it was the two of them alone. Sasuke seemed to notice this, so he was the first to speak.

"I know you probably don't want to tell me, but this question has been haunting me ever since you left..." Sasuke started off.

Naruto knew exactly where this was going. In fact, ever since he knew he was going to return to Japan, he had been planning just how he would answer this question. The blonde bit his lower lip waiting for Sasuke to continue even though he knew what was about to be asked.

"I want to know why you left. Even more, why did you leave without saying anything to me?" Though Sasuke's face seemed expressionless, his voice was full of emotion.

Naruto still tensed at the question. He wondered if he was ready to answer it. Taking a deep breath, the blonde prepared his answer.

"Since you want to know why I left, I think it's about time I told you." Naruto tried his best to keep his voice strong and not waver like he felt himself wavering on the inside.

"The morning before I left, I received a letter in the mail saying that I had been accepted into a prestigious art university in the United States. It seemed that my art teacher had sent a picture of one of my paintings to a friend he had there at the university.

"Apparently, he was impressed with my work and so he offered me a fully paid scholarship to attend the university. You don't know how excited I was to have been invited to such a well known art institute. It was almost unbelievable.

"I was so excited and wanted to share my good news with someone, so I headed off to tell Iruka. Although he was ecstatic for me, I could tell that something was bothering him. "I soon realized that it was the fact that I would be moving overseas. Away from him. Away from everyone in Konoha. The realization of that hit me rather hard. Was I ready to leave everyone and go by myself to an unknown country? I didn't even know the answer myself." Naruto looked out the window his eyes becoming dark as he recalled the memories.

"But then I realized that this was my chance to start anew. Ever since I could remember I was shunned by everyone in the town. I was known as the child who shouldn't have been born. I was known as the unlucky child who killed his parents. I killed my mother when I was born, and I killed my father when he tried to save me from our burning house. Everyone loved my parents and because of me they died…" The blonde closed his eyes and settled back on the seat. Sasuke said nothing waiting for his long time friend to continue.

"So getting this letter to move to another place where no one knew me was like a breath of fresh air. It was like I was given another chance to live my life the right way without having the past that I had. It would be a chance to go somewhere where they didn't know Uzumaki Naruto the boy who killed his parents. I would be able to start over in a place where no one knew of that person.

"That thought alone was enough to make my decision. But I started thinking of everyone that I would leave behind. I would be leaving you, Iruka, and all my other friends that I had made over the years. I knew that I couldn't leave you all. And for the first time, I was scared about how it would be to live in a place where I knew no one.

"However, something started to pull at my heart. All my life I had bend over to other people's will in order just to make them feel more comfortable. I had always followed what ever I was told not once thinking about myself. And I was tired of that. For once, I wanted to be selfish and do what **I** wanted to do. Forget about everyone else and how they would feel, but only about how I would feel.

"With that in mind, I had finally come to my decision. Of course I wanted to tell you and everyone else, but I was sure that if I did, then I would lose the heart to leave. And so, as soon as I got home, I packed all my belongings with my mind set only on leaving." Naruto finished letting out a sigh. He felt better letting that all out. It had been eating away at him all this time since he left.

Though he was sure that Sasuke would accept that reason, he would dare not to tell him the other part of the reason why he left.

"_He means nothing to me. __**Nothing."**_

The blonde could still remember how coldly Sasuke had spoken at that time even if it had been five years since then. He frowned at the fact that he still hadn't gotten over his feelings for his best friend. Even after all this time, he still yearned for the love of the man sitting next to him.

"I see…" Sasuke said after a long while still absorbing what was just said.

"I hope you can forgive me, Sasuke. I never meant to hurt you or anyone else by my sudden departure." Blue eyes looked nervously out the window. He really wanted to be forgiven by Sasuke. Who cared about anyone else? The only person who really mattered to him was the person that he could never forget mo matter how far away he was.

"For a long time, I was very angry at you. You had just left without even telling me a thing. I remember how troubled you looked that night. I wanted you to tell me what was on your mind, but I just blew it off thinking that you would tell me later. However, that later never came." Sasuke's eyes narrowed with unidentifiable emotion.

"The morning I found out you had gone without a word, it had felt like a punch straight to my stomach. I couldn't breathe or think. I thought that it must have been a joke that you were playing, but as soon as I entered your empty room, it all became so real.

"I'll be honest, since you have been with me; your leaving had affected me a lot more than I was willing admit. For a long time, you were the closest person to me. Even Itachi, who is my flesh and blood, wasn't as close to me as you were. And to have you leave without even telling me was a big blow." Sasuke sounded angry as he said this and Naruto feared for the worse.

"But..." Naruto turned to Sasuke as he sensed the change in his voice.

"I didn't even think about how you felt. I was just so angry at you that I forgot to even think about how this might have affected you. When I finally realized that, my anger disappeared. Of course I am still pissed that you didn't tell me, but I forgive you for leaving." The blonde let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding as he heard the last words leave Sasuke's mouth.

"A lot has changed Naruto." Sasuke's voice suddenly turned cold which caused shivers to travel down Naruto's back.

"I am not the same person I was before." The dark haired man turned to look at Naruto with emotionless eyes.

Naruto stared back with empty blue eyes of his own.

"Neither am I…"

* * *

The blonde sighed as he reached his apartment and walked in with a tired face. After Sasuke had forgiven him, they ceased talking. He vaguely wondered how he didn't notice the change in Sasuke. When he had first seen him at the airport, he had seemed so much like his former self. Though aloof, he was still playful with that ever present arrogant smirk in place. 

Even in the car, he had seemed to be unchanged. However, when their conversation had ended, Naruto noticed the slight change in the atmosphere. It seemed that after they had finished speaking, Sasuke had built a wall around himself blocking out Naruto.

Though he could not blame him, Naruto was slightly disappointed and hurt by the sudden change. He supposed that he still hoped that the two could go back to the way they were before. But deep down, Naruto knew that wasn't going to happen. After all, it was him who decided to break their friendship.

The blonde looked around his new apartment. The one he had before had been already rented out, so he opted for another room. This one was slightly larger than the one he had before. It had two bedrooms, one full bathroom, one half-bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room, and finally a living room.

Naruto sighed for the umpteenth time as he began to unpack his things. It was going to be a long day trying to get settled into his new apartment. He supposed it would have been better to ask someone to help him, but everyone had been working and plus he didn't really want to bother anyone. After all, it had been several years since he had seen most of them so it would have been awkward to ask them.

Of course, there was also Iruka, but he had already troubled the man so much before. Besides, he had wanted to be independent. His time in America had caused him to become independent. He didn't have anyone he could depend on because his aunt and uncle lived in a town two hours away from the city he was living in.

"Though it would be nice if someone could help me…" Naruto muttered to himself as he plopped down on his leather couch.

"But I don't want to bother anyone." The blonde continued to talk to himself as he sunk into the soft cushions of his couch.

As he sat there, Naruto began to drift off. The trip had definitely taken its toll on him. He supposed that the jet lag was catching up to him. That was probably the only reason for him suddenly becoming so sleepy and tired.

As he was about to fall into dream land, the door bell started to ring.

Groaning, the lazy blonde got up walking sluggishly over to the door still feeling drowsy. Naruto felt like beating down whoever dared to bother him. He was tired and stressed out from coming all the way back to the place he left and never return to.

Opening the door, Naruto glared at the person standing there.

"What do you want?" He answered annoyed and angry at the person who dared to interrupt his resting time.

"Why, Naruto-kun, how could you be so rude to me?" The male voice said sounding hurt.

There before the blonde stood a dark haired man. He looked no older than Naruto himself. His short unruly hair fell over his smooth forehead. He had light colored skin with dark gray eyes that appeared almost black. The handsome man in front of Naruto had a slim, lean body that was molded to perfection with muscles in all the right places. However, one thing was undeniable about the way this man had looked. He had a strong resemblance to someone. That someone was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sai…what a pleasant surprise…" The blonde said sarcastically not really wanted to see the person in front of him.

"Isn't it? Since we have our photo shoot tomorrow, I wanted to come by and see you." The young man now known as Sai said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"You know that I barely moved in today, Sai…Do you think that I would have time to spend with you?" Naruto said still grumpy from being bothered by the Sasuke look-alike.

"Of course you do. You _always_ make time for me, right?" Sai pushed Naruto aside inviting himself in.

The blonde gave a growl and followed the model before falling on his couch intending on ignoring the raven haired intruder. He didn't even dare to answer the previous statement seeing that he wouldn't be able to win against the stubborn dark haired man anyway. Naruto sighed once more and closed his eyes hoping that Sai would just disappear.

"Naruto…"

The blonde man on the couch didn't move a muscle. He just stayed still on the couch with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, he felt a weight upon him. Hands began to roam over his chest and Naruto had to hold back a moan from escaping his traitorous lips.

"You know…" The model said with a deep, seductive voice. "I've missed you…Ever since you left, I've wanted to touch you like this." He moved his lips up to Naruto's ear. His tongue flicked out and he ran it along the side of the blonde's ear.

Naruto shuddered at this. Though he was somewhat reluctant to admit it, the blonde had been in a relationship with the man that was currently feeling him up.

It had all started when he was asked to come to take pictures for a company's ad. Apparently, they had seen one of Naruto's photos and were impressed by them. Because he needed the money, the blonde agreed without hesitation. What he didn't know was that he was going to take a picture for a cologne ad.

So when Naruto walked into the studio, his eyes locked on to who he believed was Sasuke at first. Thinking it was the person he left behind, he panicked. He wondered why Sasuke would be there in the first place. However, at a second glance, the man that stood in front of him was not Sasuke, but someone who looked very similar. They were both devilishly handsome with dark hair and equally dark eyes. They both had the same creamy pale skin that looked soft to the touch. Even their body shape was alike. The only difference Naruto could see was the different hairstyles and the fake smile that adorned the model's lips.

Naruto was shocked to find someone who looked so much like his first love. What shocked the blonde even more was that after the photo shoot, he was approached by Sasuke's would-be twin to go out for a drink.

He then found out about how Sai had taken an interest in him and wanted to start something with the blonde. At first, Naruto was uncertain thinking that it would be weird and uncomfortable to be with someone that looked so much like his first love. However as time passed, Naruto got to know the model and was pulled in by Sai's charm. He was so much like the way Naruto had wanted Sasuke to be. And what's more was that he looked almost exactly like the Uchiha heir.

But it all came crashing down when he found Sai cheating on him with another model. After that, Naruto had realized that he didn't really like Sai as much as he thought he did. It turned out that the only reason that he liked Sai was because he looked so much like his beloved Sasuke.

After that, Naruto refused to see Sai saying that he needed time to get over what had happened. Of course this was not the whole reason. It was just that Naruto wanted to snap himself out of it and remind himself that no matter how similar they looked, Sai was not Sasuke nor could he ever replace him.

The model, however, would not accept breaking up with the blonde saying that it was a mistake and that he couldn't live without him. Naruto knew that this was a lie and so to get away from the model, he made it so his schedule was very busy and did not allow much time for Sai.

Finally after a while, the blonde received an offer to go and take pictures for another ad. Apparently, the company was famous and well-known since his assistant begged him to do it. And so, he accepted. However, the blonde wasn't prepared for what was about to happen next. Not only was the photo shoot in Japan, the place he wanted to never return to, but it would also be featuring the very popular model, Sai.

Not wanting to back out on his word, Naruto agreed to move to Japan since it was to be a two year contract. He would be dealing with all the visuals of the ads that the company had. Plus, he figured that he could just ignore Sai for most of the time.

Well, he supposed he was wrong about that one considering the situation that he was currently in.

"Sai, get off of me." Naruto said pushing the other man away.

"But why? You know you like it when I do this to you." The model pouted while landing kisses on the blonde's tan neck.

"I don't anymore. Not since we broke up, remember?" Naruto argued trying to sit up while moving away from Sai.

"I never wanted to break up with you." He heard Sai grumble as he latched on to Naruto's mid-section.

"Yes, well, you should have decided that before you cheated on me, right?" Now more annoyed, the blonde forcefully yanked off the clingy model and stood from his place on the couch.

"It was an accident though! He meant nothing to me. It was a mistake, Naruto love." Sai got up following the blonde and embraced him from behind.

"I still want to be with you. You don't love me anymore?" Naruto inwardly groaned at this. If anything, he could never win against Sai and his ultimate technique which was when he started to use his whiny voice. He would say it with so much emotion that it would pierce through his conscience and finally make him give in.

"…you know that's not the case. It's just that I can't forgive you for what you did. It really hurt me." The blonde said hoping to be freed from the model.

"I'm sorry." Sai turned the blonde around in his arms.

The model cupped Naruto's tan scarred cheeks and brought their faces together. For once, Naruto didn't resist. He was too tired to do anything.

Sai rested his forehead against Naruto's.

"I want us to start over again Naruto." Sai's stern voice stunned Naruto. Never before had he heard the usually joking model sound so serious before.

"But I…" His words were interrupted by his front door opening.

"Naruto, I forget to tell you something." A familiar deep voice called out.

Sasuke walked in to find Naruto and some other man so close together it appeared that they had been preciously doing something intimate with each other. The blonde turned to face him with wide blue eyes and a flushed face. He didn't know why, but as he saw the two in such a close embrace, feelings of anger started to rush through his body. Just who was this guy and why was he so close to Naruto? Was the question that ran through Sasuke's mind.

"Sa-sasuke!" Naruto said slightly stuttering. He quickly pushed away from the dark haired model as if he was caught doing something bad.

Sai narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. So this was the famous Sasuke that he had heard so much about. During most of the time that he had spent with Naruto, the blonde would sometimes talk about his best friend Sasuke who he had left in Japan. Though he was sure Naruto didn't know, whenever he would speak about the Uchiha, his eyes would soften with an emotion that Sai didn't want to identify. He was slightly afraid to find out what it really was. So whenever this Sasuke was mentioned, the model would burn with hatred since Naruto only had that look when he was talking about the raven haired heir.

The sneaky model saw the flash of anger in the Uchiha's dark eyes and smirked. He wrapped his arms around the blonde and rested his chin on Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto love, who is this man?" Sai said bringing the blonde closer to him.

Too shocked to do anything, Naruto just gave a weak smile to Sasuke.

"What did you want?" Naruto hoped that his voice didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

Sasuke just frowned and glared at the man that was clinging so closely to the blonde. And what made him angrier was that the idiot wasn't doing anything to get away from that smiling freak. He didn't know why, but at that moment, the Uchiha had an urge to get Naruto away from the model that was attached to his back.

"I need to talk to you…**privately**." Sasuke stressed the last word hoping that it would get that thing off of Naruto.

For a moment, Naruto hesitated. He wondered what Sasuke had to talk to him about. Grabbing Sai's hands that were around his waist, the blonde turned to face the model and gave him an apologetic look.

"Can you please leave, Sai?"

Sai frowned at the way the blonde's voice had changed. It had become meek and quiet. It almost sounded as if he was pleading with him. However, the model was never one to deny Naruto when he asked in such a manner. He had a weak spot for those glittering, bright blue eyes.

An evil glint came across the dark haired model's eyes. If he was going to leave, he was sure as hell not going to depart without making an impression on that Sasuke person who looked so angrily at him.

"Okay…if you want me to." Sai used his slightly whiny voice as he pouted cutely. He placed his arms around Naruto's neck and brought the blonde closer locking lips with him. Naruto was too stunned to really react to the sudden kiss.

Though he was almost sure he heard it, Sai ears twitched when a noise that sounded so much like a growl come from the direction of the Uchiha heir who was currently standing behind the blonde. After ending his passionate kiss with Naruto, Sai pulled back and gave him a smile.

"I will see you later." With one last wink, the model walked out of Naruto's apartment his smile turning into a smirk.

"Ha, now you know who Naruto belongs to now." Sai said to himself as he made his way out of the building.

* * *

Okay guys, how was it? I hope that you all didn't wait so long. With college starting for me, it was hard to find a moment to actually write this thing.

On a side note, I just want to mention that I am being intentional when the characters, especially Naruto, are out of character. Yeah, he's the idiot that we all know and love, but in this story I wanted to portray him as a more serious person. Probably the way he would have been had he not been all cheer and smiles. Sasuke seems kind of out of his usual 'hn's, but fear not, he will be going back to his bastard mode soon enough. Just hang tight.

I would love some feedback on whatever you may think needs improvement. Whether you want some more characters to join in or the plot is kinda dragging, tell me anything. And to do that, you know what you all need to do!! Click that review button. Hehe.

Also, I shall try my best to keep the chapters coming. Please be patient with me. With homework piling up, there's just no time for anything.


	4. The Confrontation

**Disclaimer: **Please refer to the other chapters.

**Warning**: This will be for all the upcoming chapters. **YAOI ALERT**. Not too graphic right now, but maybe in the later chapters….depends.

**Author's Note**: So sorry for the long wait. Life has just been so hectic right now so I haven't had the chance to continue until now.

Thank you all for being so patient with me. This chapter hasn't been edited, so please excuse all the mistakes. Hopefully in the next few days, I can make all the corrections. I was in a rush to submit it after I finished it. :D!

* * *

**Chapter Three**: The Confrontation

As Naruto turned to look at Sasuke after Sai had left, he noticed the narrowed eyes and scowl on the handsome face of the Uchiha. Naruto smiled sheepishly and rubbed one of his hands behind his head in an embarrassed manner.

"Well, I-…"

"Who was _that_?" Sasuke's voice said interrupting what Naruto was about to say.

"Err…that was Sai. He's the model I'm going to work with during the photo shoot." Naruto said his eyes adverting from Sasuke's intense stare.

"What relationship do you have with this Sai?" The raven haired heir continued to press on the matter.

"With Sai..?" Naruto paused trying to wrack through his head for a good excuse. But honestly speaking, how would he get out of this mess? Sasuke obviously saw the kiss.

"He's a… close friend." The blonde finished off lamely not even believing himself.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed further, but backed down much to Naruto's relief.

"I see…" Though he let the matter go, Sasuke was still quite angry at the scene that he had witnessed moments ago.

"Ermm…so what is it that you had to speak to me about..?" Naruto asked hoping to change the subject.

Sasuke turned to Naruto with a scowl knowing what he was trying to do.

Naruto watched as Sasuke looked hesitant to answer his question. He really didn't know why he came back.

"My mother wants you to come for dinner tomorrow. She heard about your return from Sakura and wants to welcome you back." The raven haired Uchiha said not really pleased with the idea of having Naruto over his house.

"Miko-san?" Naruto said with a smile lighting up his face.

Ah yes, Uchiha Mikoto was a woman that Naruto knew well. During his years of being best friends with Sasuke, the Uchiha house was like a second home to Naruto. Mikoto, or 'Oba-chan' to Naruto, welcomed the hyperactive blonde into her home with open arms. She loved Naruto's bright personality compared to her two anti-social boys that never said a word.

The blonde thought of the woman that was like a mother to him and nodded enthusiastically at the invitation to the Uchiha home. He even missed the sarcastic Itachi and strict looking Uchiha Fugaku.

"Sure, I'd love to go. I miss oba-chan and her delicious cooking." The blonde said still with a smile on his face.

Sasuke looked reluctant to accept his answer, but it was he, after all, who was the one to ask.

In the end, the Uchiha ended up nodding while folding his arms over his chest in a brooding manner. Though it was relieving that Naruto hadn't responded to his invitation in an awkward manner, he still didn't like the fact that the blonde would once more be going to his house.

"Was that all, Sasuke? I really need to finish unpacking before night falls." Naruto said looking out his window happy that the sun was still out. If he was to unpack by himself, he needed to make sure that he had plenty of time to do it.

"Yeah…" Sasuke said his dark eyes falling on the blonde who was still looking out the window.

The raven haired Uchiha seemed to hesitate on his next words.

"Do you…need any…help?" Sasuke frowned at how hard it was him just to ask such a simple question to the blonde.

The blonde, for a moment, looked very surprised at the sudden suggestion of help. He would have never of imagined that the Uchiha would offer his help after everything that just happened.

"Well, I don't want to inconvenience you." Naruto said looking slightly unsure of how to respond to Sasuke.

"In that case, never mind." Sasuke said angrily. There he was offering his assistance which was something that he shouldn't have done in the first place and now look at what happens.

The Uchiha turns around still angry and heads for the door cursing to himself for even thinking about helping that stupid blonde fool.

"Wait! Wait, Sasuke!" Naruto called out realizing that he had offended the Uchiha. He really hadn't meant to. It was just that he felt that the Uchiha would feel awkward being with him after what he found out.

Upon hearing Naruto's call, Sasuke hesitated in his steps before coming to a full stop at the door.

Though he didn't say anything, Naruto knew that the raven haired Uchiha was giving him permission to speak.

"I didn't mean to offend you. I would greatly appreciate your help." The blonde was somewhat embarrassed to admit that he really did need assistance.

"Hn. You should have just said that in the beginning, dobe. And where did you learn those big words? Don't hurt yourself." As always Sasuke always had something mean to say to the blonde.

Naruto just smiled in return. He knew that Sasuke was just getting over his embarrassment by throwing some harmless insults that he really didn't mean.

"Well, despite popular belief, I'm not as dumb as people think." Naruto stuck out his tongue at the Uchiha before turning with a small chuckle.

"Yosh! If you are going to help me, Ice Princess, I'd love it if we would start sometime before night fall."

What the blonde didn't notice was the small barely visible smile that appeared on the Uchiha's handsome face.

Though the prideful raven haired man would rather cut off his own arm than admit it, he really did miss Naruto terribly. Ever since the bright bundle of energy had left, he had always felt like there was something missing in his life. And for the first time in a long while, Sasuke felt a sense of peace now that Naruto had returned.

* * *

Several hours later, both Naruto and Sasuke finally took a rest after finishing unpacking all of the blonde's belongings.

Though Naruto didn't really have much stuff to begin with, it was much more tedious than they had fist thought it to be. Naruto seriously wondered how he would have been able to do it without Sasuke.

"Hey bastard…" Naruto said as he turned over to where the Uchiha was laying.

"Hn?" Came the tired grunt as a reply.

"Thanks for helping me. I really appreciate me. If you weren't here, I wonder how I would have been able to finish." Naruto gave a small smile to Sasuke who just covered his eyes with his arm.

"Well, someone had to help you. Who knows what would have happened to you if you had done this yourself." Sasuke just received a quiet laugh from the blonde in return.

"Yeah, I guess you are right." Naruto said as he stared up into the ceiling of his apartment.

"Hey, what time should I be ready by for tomorrow? I'm excited. My mouth is watering at the thought of Miko-san's great cooking…" Naruto imagined all the deliciously cooked dishes that Sasuke's mother always cooked for them.

"Probably around five. I'll come and pick you up so don't worry about a ride." Sasuke's position still didn't change as he muttered this seemingly falling asleep.

"Sounds good." The blonde responded feeling a bit tired himself.

_Well, it wouldn't hurt to take a little nap. I'm sure that I will wake up in a couple of hours._ Naruto thought to himself as he closed his eyes.

And so the two boys fell asleep after their long day of unpacking. It wasn't until several hours later that Naruto found himself waking up. His blue eyes peered out the window and he noticed that it was already dark.

Momentarily forgetting that Sasuke was still there, Naruto stood up to stretch his cramped muscles. He was sleeping in a rather uncomfortable position. That would explain what happened next.

Naruto's legs simply gave out and he found himself falling forward face first. As if in slow motion, blue eyes widened as they fell on the still sleeping figure of the Uchiha. Naruto knew there was no way to avoid what was about to happen next and so he just braced himself for the impact.

The still sleeping Uchiha could not expect what was bound to happen next. One moment he was in a blissful moment of sleep and the next he was pushed onto the ground by a heavy albeit soft weight.

His dark eyes opened only see nothing but a gold color. Sasuke also realized that he was having trouble breathing. Whatever was on him was cutting off his air supply. Still under a sleep spell, the Uchiha heir did not even realize where he was. It was only when whatever had fallen on him let out a small groan did Sasuke fully wake up. However, Sasuke found himself unable to move. Apparently Naruto had fallen on him in such a way that would prevent Sasuke from moving an inch.

All the while this was going through the Uchiha's head; Naruto was trying to get himself to think straightly after the impact of the fall. Though Sasuke's body broke his fall, he had to position himself some how so that he would not cause so much damage to Sasuke. Regardless of what others thought, Naruto was still a man and thus quite heavy.

"Naru…to…I…can't…breathe!" Sasuke gasped underneath the blonde breaking his thoughts to himself.

"Ohmygod!" Naruto said in a hurry while practically leaping off of Sasuke.

"I'm sorry!!" The blonde then sprouted out in a string of apologies with his face bright red.

If Naruto was more honest with himself, he would admit that he enjoyed the feeling of being on top of Sasuke. It just felt so right. It was like they were meant to be so intimately close like that. Of course, from Sasuke's point of view, he felt the same. However, he would rather have one of his fingers chopped off than let the thought cross his mind twice.

"It's fine…" The Uchiha finally said with a small blush dusting his cheeks.

Sasuke then realized that the room that he was in was no longer bright from the sun's rays but dark and only lighted by the moonlight. He had no idea that he had fallen asleep for that long. The Uchiha was sure that he was going to just rest his eyes not fall asleep for several hours.

"It's nighttime already." Sasuke said this more as a statement rather than a question.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Naruto said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with one of his arms.

This almost made Sasuke want to smile. It was such a Naruto gesture. However, he refrained from doing so and stood up.

"Well, I should get going since it's so late." Sasuke said while holding back a wince. It seemed that he had slept in a very uncomfortable position.

"Ah, okay then." Naruto said with a tiny smile on his handsome face.

"Thank-…" The blonde was suddenly interrupted by a shrill ringing that was coming from his phone on the table near by.

"Ahh, excuse me real quick." He hurriedly grabbed the phone wanting to get rid of whoever had interrupted his time with Sasuke.

"Hello?" Naruto spoke into the hand phone with a tight voice.

"_Nice to talk to you too, my love."_ Sai's voice rang from the speaker of the cell.

"Sai? What do you want?" Naruto said not noticing the way Sasuke had stiffened when he heard the name.

"_What? Am I not allowed to call you? I just wanted to see how you are doing. Do you need me to go over there and lend you a hand…?" _Sai stated suggestively and Naruto turned red.

"No…I don't need you to come over. I'm fine." Naruto peered at Sasuke and panicked when he saw the Uchiha scowling more than usual.

"Look, I will call you later. Bye!" And with that, Naruto shut his phone close and threw it on the couch.

"Err, sorry about that. I didn't know he was going to call so late." Naruto said while looking at the floor with a small blush of embarrassment.

"…hn." Was all that he got from the now seemingly angry Uchiha.

At his response, Naruto sighed. _'Great now he's back to being mad at me. Thanks Sai…'_ The blonde thought while looking away from the raven haired Uchiha in front of him.

"Do you want to have some tea before you leave?" Naruto said finally trying to break the silence that left him very uncomfortable.

Sasuke looked hesitant still peeved at the call from this Sai person. In the end, he refused saying it was late and that he needed to get up early in the morning.

Naruto looked a little disappointed at his answer, but quickly let it go and walked Sasuke to the door.

"Thanks for helping me. I really couldn't have finished without your help." Naruto said with a small smile on his handsome face.

Sasuke had the impulse to smile back but he caught himself and stopped the smile from blooming on his face. It was odd, but Sasuke could feel his barrier that he had put up over five years just break down when he was with the blonde. He was supposed to have changed. However, he could feel himself weakening around Naruto. No matter how long it had been, he was still unable to keep his guard up with him.

"You're welcome." Sasuke said the side of his lips twitching upwards.

"Be sure that you are ready for tomorrow. I won't accept lateness." Sasuke gave a small harmless glare towards the photographer who gave a small chuckle in return.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to be ready. Tell Miko-san that I am looking forward to her delicious cooking." Naruto said opening the door for Sasuke.

The raven haired Uchiha walked out nodding.

"Sure thing. Night." Naruto smiled and bid Sasuke a good night as well before closing the door.

Sasuke sighed as soon as he was far enough from Naruto's apartment door. When he had found out that Naruto was returning, he had prepared himself to be cold to the blonde. After all, the photographer had left without saying a word to him. They were supposed to be best friends but Sasuke was the only one who was left in the dark. He found out that after Naruto had left, he was the only one who the blonde didn't keep in touch with. Everyone else talked about Naruto while he was left in the dark.

The Uchiha had prepared himself when he found out Naruto was to return. He was going to be cold and cruel to the blonde and make him feel as hurt and betrayed as he had felt. But he found that he couldn't be as cold to the blonde as he had hoped he could. Naruto was the only one that he could let his guard down with. He realized that even though five years had passed, he was still as weak against Naruto as before.

Sasuke wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. A flash of a dark haired slender male model suddenly popped into his head.

And then there was the issue with that model. He didn't know why, but for some reason, the image of the two kissing sent his mind into a fit of anger. He didn't know why but this unknown emotion boiled up whenever he thought about those two being intimate with one another. It was something that he never expected to feel.

Deciding that it was pointless to further pursue the topic, Sasuke got in his car and went home.

* * *

The next day around midday, Naruto could be seen scurrying around his apartment trying to get ready for his trip to the Uchiha mansion. He was terribly nervous and wanted to look presentable to the people he had not seen in a long time.

Though it was kind of odd, Naruto felt as if the Uchiha family was like a second family to him. Back then, he was always as Sasuke's house. There was never a day when Naruto was at his own apartment. During that time he spent there, he was able to bond with all three members of the Uchiha family.

Mikoto was a sweet woman who easily accepted Naruto. She always gave him a bright smile and welcomed him with open arms. She would always say that she wished that Naruto was part of the family. He even got through to Itachi and Fugaku who usually seem very unapproachable. Itachi would always bring Naruto pastries whenever the blonde would visit the Uchiha mansion. Fugaku, on the other hand, would always take interest in Naruto's paintings and even prompted him to do a portrait of him.

Naruto smiled at the memory. He always loved visiting the Uchiha home. But sometimes it made him sad. He would sometimes think if he still had his family if that's how it would feel like.

Shaking his head, Naruto finished putting on his worn sneakers and headed out the door. He knew that by the time he got down there, Sasuke would be in his car waiting for him.

As the blonde took the last couple of steps from his apartment, he was able to spot Sasuke's sleek black car. It was funny how the dark vehicle seemed out of place in his parking lot full of colorful cars.

Naruto smiled as he reached the car waiting for the Uchiha to open the door for him. Once inside, the blonde greeted his once best friend. Sasuke gave him a typical 'hn' response which he was used to so Naruto paid no mind.

Suddenly, Naruto felt a vibration from his jean pocket. Wondering who would call him at this time, the blonde answered the phone not even looking at the screen.

"_Naru-chan, my love, let's go have lunch together." _The silky voice of the dark haired model came from the receiver.

"…I can't. I've already made plans." Naruto said in a harsh whisper trying his hardest not to catch the Uchiha's attention.

Unfortunately for Naruto, the moment the cell phone had rung Sasuke was already keenly aware of the call. The Uchiha seemed to tense as he heard Naruto's distressed voice.

"_Plans? With who? It better not be that ice princess I saw yesterday."_ Sai's voice seemed to be whiny but Naruto also could tell he was slightly angry.

"So what if it is? I don't recall having to ask you for permission." Naruto bit back offended that Sai thought he could order him around.

"_I won't allow it! You know it's hopeless Naru-chan. He doesn't and won't understand your feelings. I hope you realize that soon and come back to me."_ The model said his voice almost sad.

At Sai's words, Naruto's eyes widened. Up until this point, the blonde had refused to delve into the matter of his feelings for Sasuke. He knew that it would be hard to stay around the Uchiha. His feelings were part of the reason why he felt the need to leave in the first place.

Sasuke immediately noticed the change in his former best friend. First he could sense that the photographer had gotten mad at the person on the other line who he suspected to be that flamboyant looking model from yesterday. Now the blonde looked rather conflicted with himself. Sasuke wondered what the other person had said to Naruto to get such a reaction from him.

"I know…Just let me be for now. Bye!" Naruto shut his phone after turning it on silent. Now that his mood was ruined, he didn't want to get anymore calls no matter how important they were.

"Who was that just now? Is everything okay?" Sasuke asked before he could stop himself.

Naruto seemed to be startled by the question because he looked at the raven haired Uchiha with wide eyes.

"Um…it was just Sai. He wanted to ask me something." Naruto carefully worded his answer so as to prevent Sasuke from getting too curious.

The dark eyes just peered at the blonde suspiciously as if asking 'are you sure that's all?' Like they always had, Naruto squirmed underneath Sasuke's penetrating gaze. His light blue eyes averted to anywhere else but the two dark orbs.

"He wanted to have lunch with me, but I told him I already have plans." Naruto finally blurted out unable to stay calm and quiet with those Uchiha eyes peering at him.

Sasuke had to inwardly smirk. It always worked on the idiot. He was never one to stay quiet when he looked at him in that way. This technique was something that he nicknamed Sharingan.

"Oh, I see. If you want, you can-..."

"No!" Naruto quickly intercepted.

Realizing that he spoke rather loudly, Naruto blushed and looked down at his lap.

"I mean, no, that's fine. I want to see Miko-san and everyone else." The blonde said wondering why he was being so weird in the presence of the Uchiha. It was much different than what he was used to.

"I haven't seen them in such a long time. And it would be rude of me to decline their invitation." The blonde clarified with a sheepish smile.

"Very well. If that is what you want." The Uchiha said pleased that Naruto chose his family instead of that clingy model.

After the 'call incident' as Naruto begrudgingly named it, the rest of the ride was comfortably silent. It seemed that Sasuke wasn't in a bad mood anymore so the blonde felt that he could relax.

Soon enough, Sasuke pulled up to a large looking house that bordered on looking like a mansion. This was just one part of the Uchiha estate. Naruto stared up to what was called the main house. A small smile tugged at his lips. It was exactly the way that he had left it. The grand structure that Naruto saw in front of him stood three stories high and had more than fifty rooms. Yes, this was exactly the same as he had left it all those years ago.

As soon as the two males had walked into the house, Naruto was hit with the feeling of a warm atmosphere. It was something that he only felt when he visited the Uchiha mansion.

Upon hearing the door, the lovely Mikoto practically glided into the room to meet her son and his guest.

"Naru-chan!!" The older woman squealed and grabbed the blonde into a hug.

"Oh, I missed you so much! All those years and not a word from my Naru-chan." Mikoto said as her eyes became glassy with unshed tears.

"I missed you to, oba-chan." Naruto said as he warmly hugged the woman back missing the warmth that he had been missing all those years that he had been away.

Sasuke could do nothing but watch this little reunion between his mother and his once best friend. Though there was still a lot to be discussed, Sasuke could say that he definitely missed having the blonde idiot back at his house. Ever since he left, his house had seemed to be less bright than it had been when Naruto was there.

Uchiha Itachi, hearing all the commotion, decided to grave everyone with his presence. He came down the stares in his usual elegant manner with his tied hair following him.

"So chibi-chan is here I see." His deep baritone brought everyone's attention to him as he reached the bottom floor.

"Nii-san." Naruto said out of pure habit.

The blonde, before leaving, had treated everyone of Sasuke's family as if they were his own. Surprisingly enough, every member of the Uchiha family accepted this and had no problems with letting the blonde bundle of joy into the family. At first, of course, they were a little hesitant to let anyone outside of the family become close, but over time, they all came to like Naruto.

"Chibi-chan, it has been a while." Itachi reached the shorter male and patted his head in an awkward manner that was oddly suitable for the raven haired Uchiha.

Naruto just smiled at Itachi who did nothing but nod back. The older Uchiha brother was never one for affection or being touchy feely with anyone. It was a surprise when Itachi had let Naruto call him 'nii-san'. Even Mikoto, who knew her son far better than anyone else, was quite shocked when the anti-social Uchiha accepted Naruto into their home. Even though he would deny it to his grave, the older Uchiha was actually quite fond of the blonde. He brought much amusement to Itachi's usually boring life. It had been quite dull without the loud, noisy Naruto that would always fill the house with some sort of racket.

"Let's go pay a visit to Fugaku. I'm sure that he would love to see Naruto. Ever since I told him that you would be coming over for dinner, he's been looking a little excited." Mikoto said brightly while leading Naruto to the library where the head of the Uchiha family would no doubt be.

Sasuke gave a roll of his eyes. His father excited? Yeah right. Only the day when pigs fly would be the day that he would see his father being excited. Uchiha Fugaku was known for his stern and strict manner. He usually showed no emotion on his face except when he was angry.

Soon enough, the three reached the library. A handsome older man who looked no older than forty-five, but was surely in his fifties, was sitting at a desk in the back of the large library. All four walls of the room were occupied by shelves packed with books. There was only one large window that was currently providing all of the light in the room.

"Dear, look who is here to join us for dinner, Naru-chan!" Mikoto announced happily to her husband who looked up from his work with his dark steely grey eyes landing on the blonde who looked a bit nervous meeting the head Uchiha after all this time.

"Uchiha-san. It's nice to see you again. Thank you for having me for dinner." Naruto bowed politely to the older man.

"Naruto. You know you can call me what you used to call me. There is no need to be formal with me." Sasuke's father said in a deep masculine voice that held much power to it.

"Yes, oji-sama." Naruto looked rather shy and hesitant to say it after not using it for a long time.

"So how was your trip? Do you have somewhere to stay? If not, you know you are always welcome here." Fugaku got up from his chair and made it over to where the blonde was standing.

"Ah…it was fine. I was able to rent out an apartment where my old place was. There's no need to worry, and thank you for your offer." Naruto gave a smile to the older Uchiha.

"Very well…" The dark haired man looked rather hesitant to say was he was about to say next so he just cleared his throat and went for it.

"Okaeri nasai, Naruto." These words surprised the other occupants of the room. They looked at the stern man with wide eyes.

"Yes, that's right! Welcome home, Naruto. It's so good to have you back." Mikoto and Fugaku lead the stunned blonde out the door to head for the dining room.

Sasuke stayed behind a little bit longer lost in his thoughts. If he were more honest with himself, he was glad that Naruto was back and that everyone had welcomed him back with open arms in the way that they did.

But it was because of the way he felt betrayed that he just couldn't completely accept Naruto back into his life. Even though his mind was telling him that he shouldn't be getting close to Naruto again after everything had happened between them, he knew that his heart was definitely opening up to the blonde once again.

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto chatting happily with his parents, and he could help but let a little smile grace his handsome face.

"Welcome home, dobe." And this time when he said it, Sasuke really meant it.

* * *

**Author's Drabble Time:**

Well, that's it for now. Yes, I know it's been a long time for me, but I did try. I haven't had any ideas for the longest time, but finally I was able to get something out. Hehe.

Japanese Terms (Although, I don't like to use them, sometimes they are just necessary..):

_-san_: You can use this in place of Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc.

_-chan_: An affectionate or endearing suffix attatched to names.

_chibi-chan_: Hmm, this one can be translated into 'little one'. Basically, Itachi is making fun of Naruto because he is short. :D

_oji-sama_: Means uncle. But because it has _-sama_ at the end, it's a more respectful way to say it.

_nii-san_: Older brother.

_oba-chan_: A more affectionate way of saying aunt.

_okaeri nasai_: Translates to "welcome home" or "welcome back".


End file.
